‘Gutted’ Liberal candidates robbed of chance to run in Northern Beaches Council election
“Gutted’ Liberal candidates say northern beaches’ locals will be robbed of a conservative voice on the council due to a massive election admin error by NSW Liberal Party HQ.
Manly
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A huge administrative blunder that will rob northern beaches’ locals of a chance to vote for Liberal candidates at the upcoming council election has been described as a “slap in the face for democracy”.
The names of 15 Liberals who put their names forward to win seats on Northern Beaches Council will, at this stage, not appear on the ballot paper for the September 14 poll.
Liberal candidates stripped of the opportunity to run, due to a failure by NSW Liberal Party admin staff to get nominations in on time, include current senior councillor Dave Walton and deputy mayor Georgia Ryburn.
Councillors Karina Page and Michael Gencher have also been sidelined from the election.
It is understood the NSW Liberal secretariat failed to properly lodge nominations with the NSW Electoral Commission in as many as 12 local government areas, including the Northern Beaches, before the midday deadline on Wednesday.
Cr Page, who only joined the council last year to fill a vacancy left by outgoing Liberal Rory Amon, who became the State MP for Pittwater at the March 2023 NSW election, said she was left “devastated”.
“I’m devastated for me, my fellow councillors and I’m devastated for the community,” she said.
“It’s a slap in the face for democracy because without the Liberals, voters here will be left with very little choice at the election except for a Greens/Teal/Labor alliance, and a couple of independents.
“It’s not fair for voters.”
“When you offer yourself to public life in local government, it’s time away from your family, you work hard, you contribute so much and then lose it so quickly.
“We did nothing wrong.
“We followed all the rules and got all the proper paperwork in.
Cr Walton said he was “really disappointed” that head office had stuffed up.
The former Chief Inspector with Northern Beaches Police said that as a result of the error “strong conservative voices were being removed from the council for the next four years”.
“We haven’t had a formal response yet from either the Party or the electoral commission.
“I’ve checked the NSW Electoral Commission website and my name’s not there.”
Cr Walton said people with governance experience would be missing for local government on the Beaches.
He pointed out that at Tuesday last night’s council meeting for example, Liberal councillors were responsible for overturning a motion to create a “Voice to Council” Aboriginal community Advisory Group.
“I really feel sorry for the community that this level of scrutiny and governance oversight will disappear.”
Cr Gencher said he was “gutted” when told that it was likely that he would not be able to run for office next month.
Cr Gencher said he checked the electoral commission website and saw he was listed as a potential Liberal candidate but his forms were deemed “incomplete”.
“It’s deeply upsetting.
“At the moment I’m gutted.
“I feel like I’m in limbo. I haven’t heard from anyone, I don’t know the situation or if anyone is in our corner.
“And that’s not a great feeling.”
Cr Gencher said without the Liberal candidates it becomes an “undemocratic election”.
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